The Palace In Lentvaris Has Been Decaying

The Vilnius branch of the Department of Cultural Heritage sent a letter to the owner of the palace in Lentvaris, Laimutis Pinkevičius, demanding the ensuring of the protection of the area of the palace complex. The former seat of Tyszkiewiczowie has been decaying day by day. On 17^th March, in the palace the fire broke out.

The fire on the second floor of the palace, where the building materials had been stored and the rubbish had been put, forced the specialists in historic preservation to action. In case of the fire, an inquiry was set up. The employees of the Department of Cultural Heritage viewed the building and said that the windows on the ground floor were not secured and, by the windows opening, you could get inside with great ease. The owner of the palace was warned about it in February, 2014. Unfortunately, nothing has changed since then. Now, the specialists in monument preservation have been demanding not only securing the window openings, but also the protection of the whole areas by hiring a watchman, or installing the monitoring.

The palace in Lentvaris had been built in 1850 by Jozef Tyszkiewicz. His son, Wladyslaw Tyszkiewicz, in 1899 rebuilt the mansion in the style of English gothic. The palace, considered to be one of the most beautiful in Lithuania, was surrounded by the large park, designed by a famous landscape architect Édouard André. In the park, about 60 species of trees and shrubs were growing, there was also, connected by the stream, a system of ponds with artificial waterfalls, caves, and stone bridges.

 After the Vilnius region had been occupied by the Soviet Union, the property in Lentvaris was nationalized. At first, the palace was storing corn, then it housed the carpet factory. In 2007, the palace was bought by Laimutis Pinkevičius, the president of Ranga Group company. The new owner planned to restore the historic building and there were even relevant projects made, and the necessary examinations carried out. But then he changed his plans and wanted to make a hotel in the palace, as well as to organize the park and make it available to the visitors.

Unfortunately, L. Pinkevičiusa’s company went bankrupt, the owner ran into financial debts and, as a consequence of this, the palace in Lentvaris has been decaying for years. The specialists in the field of heritage preservation remind themselves of this place from time to time, but the only thing they could do is sending letters to the owner and demanding the palace to be protected against vandalism.

Source: http://www.wilnoteka.lt/pl/artykul/niszczeje-palac-w-landwarowie

Tłumaczenie by Roksana Kasperek w ramach praktyk w Europejskiej Fundacji Praw Człowieka, www.efhr.eu. Translated by Roksana Kasperek within the framework of a traineeship programme of the European Foundation of Human Rights, www.efhr.eu.